From Alchemy to Atoms – Details, episodes & analysis

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From Alchemy to Atoms

Dave Johnson

Science

Education

Health & Fitness

History

Society & Culture

Technology

Frequency: 1 episode/12d. Total Eps: 5

This podcast discusses the history of scientific thought and tells stories about the greatest scientific discoveries and the scientists who made them. There may also be an inordinate amount of Xennial-related references thrown in along the way. Episodes will be released every two weeks on Fridays! Thanks for listening.

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Data updated on 14/07/2026

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Score global : 79%

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Episode 5 - All Roads Lead to Rome

Season 1 · Episode 5

Friday, August 15, 2025 • Duration 01:09:56

In this episode we will learn about the impact of the Roman Empire on scientific thought. As opposed to the Greeks who approached mathematics and science from a philosophical perspective in order to better understand the universe, the Romans had a much more utilitarian view of these topics. As the Roman Empire sought to increase its influence over much of the known world, they were aided by the knowledge possessed by their Greek neighbors. They used this knowledge to improve their military, connect their settlements with roads and aqueducts, and build impressive structures, some of which are still standing today. And while the Romans didn't dedicate themselves like their Greek predecessors did to the continuous advancement of science and mathematics in the academic sense, they did an excellent job of cataloging the knowledge they had and making advances in these fields through the practical application of that knowledge.

Thanks for listening! I would love to hear from you. If you have any questions, comments, corrections, ideas, etc., please email me at thatbiodoc@gmail.com.

Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/from-alchemy-to-atoms/donations

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Episode 4 - Eureka! The Mathematics of the Hellenistic Age - Part 2

Season 1 · Episode 4

Tuesday, August 5, 2025 • Duration 55:55

In this episode, we continue learning about the Hellenistic Age in which Greek thinkers made many important advances in the fields of mathematics and astronomy. Part 2 features the stories of Eratosthenes, Apollonius of Perga, and Hipparchus. These three men contributed significantly to our understanding of the world and universe that surrounds us, including measuring the circumference of the Earth using shadows and laying the groundwork for modern trigonometry.

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Episode 3 - Eureka! The Mathematics of the Hellenistic Age - Part 1

Season 1 · Episode 3

Thursday, July 17, 2025 • Duration 01:07:09

In this episode, we continue our journey through the history of ancient Greece into the Hellenistic Age. We start with a history lesson about Alexander the Great and his military campaign that spread Greek influence and culture across most the ancient world. After his death, Greece would experience its golden age, known as the Hellenistic Period. During this period, Greek mathematicians laid the foundation for modern mathematics and utilized the mathematical principles they developed to create new inventions and gain a better understanding of their world.

In this first episode of a two part series, I discuss Alexander the Great's conquests and the intellectual contributions of Euclid and Archimedes.

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Episode 2 - Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle

Season 1 · Episode 2

Friday, July 4, 2025 • Duration 01:10:14

On the last episode, we discussed the ideas of the pre-Socratic philosophers. Their ideas and metaphysical concepts had a large influence on the next generation of philosophers, including the man considered to be the founder of western philosophy, Socrates. Socrates's work and his personal approach to philosophy forever changed the world and the altered the thinking of all those who followed him. Among Socrates's followers was another of the great Greek philosophers, Plato. Plato incorporated many of Socrates's ideas, along with those of numerous pre-Socratic philosophers, into his own philosophical framework, which was taught to his students at an Athenian school known as the Academy. Among Plato's students was a man named Aristotle whose ideas would revolutionize the way people investigated the natural world, the universe, and their own existence. His ideas were so powerful and important that they were essential to the scientific revolution and the Enlightenment that occurred almost 2,000 years after his death. So please, listen in while we continue learning about the origin story of the modern scientific method.

P.S.: I know I said I'd be releasing episodes every other Friday and it's only been one week. But the first episode has such a good reception, I couldn't wait to get the second one out. Enjoy!

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Episode 1 - The Origins of Scientific Thought

Season 1 · Episode 1

Saturday, June 28, 2025 • Duration 01:17:26

Welcome to the very first episode of From Alchemy to Atoms! In this episode, you'll learn about the origins of scientific thought rooted in the ideas of the pre-Socratic philosophers. These ancient Greek philosophers rejected supernatural explanations for natural phenomena and developed many of the fundamental principles that are still present in modern mathematics and science. The ideas first proposed by the pre-Socratic philosophers heavily influenced Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle, and by extension, all of western thought. And if that isn't interesting enough for you, you'll learn that Pythagoras, the triangle dude, was the leader of a mathematics-based vegetarian cult.

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From Alchemy to Atoms – Details, episodes & analysis

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From Alchemy to Atoms – Details, episodes & analysis

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